CONFESSIONS OF A FILM FOX

CONFESSIONS OF A FILM FOX

What's big, hairy, Polish, and sits atop the World Trade Center while holding a damsel in distress in his paws? King Kowalski. Dino DeLaurentlis's remake of the frolicking hijinks of our fave hairy ape, King Kong, is due for release in January 1977. The first choice for El Ka Bong's dreem date was Deborah "Once Is Not Enough ''Raffin — but she backed out claiming she has acute acrophobia and doesn't relish the thought of a free ride up the side of the world's tallest building, so now they're after Sally Fields, because of her previous experience as the Flying Nun. Other casting problems are plagueing the production. Dino has been charged, according to ENS, with using racist casting procedures with black actors who were trying out for the role. One actor complained that "a prerequisite for casting was an ape-like demeanor -with overly long arms." And still no one is quite sure what they were trying out for — something in conjunction with a 35-foot mechanical gorilla. Huh? Gladys Knight is taking some time off from the wonderful world of wax, to make a movie called Pipe Dreams. No not Pip Dreams, P-I-P-E. The story has something to do with Gladys playing the wife of a pilot who can't find work in the continental USA, so he goes to find some aerial bucks in the Alaskan bush, and she reluctantly follows. You know kind of the black version of Mrs. Mike. More lip on pszt: Roger darling recently upset his neighbors by erecting in his.front yard the 14-foot high phallic structure used as a prop in Ken Russell's over-extravaganza, Listzomania. The neighbors complained to the local law, and when they came to investigate the complaint the next morning, they not only didn't find a contrite and concerned citizen but were confronted by another of Daltrey's objets d'art — a second obscene structure to accompany the first. When they asked Roger to explain, he said he meant no offense — they were merely oversized bookends

and he had nowhere else to put them. Kris refuses to play kissy face. When Kris Kristoffferson was recently on location for his Vigilante Force flick, one over-ardent fan thrust her twomonth-old baby in Kris's face and demanded that he sign the kid's head! Kris tried to refuse gracefully , patiently trying to explain that he wasn't even running for office and hadn't kissed anyone under the age of five in over a decade, but the irate mother was not appeased, instead she changed the kid's Kimbie right in front of Kris, and then doused him with cold pablum before stalking off muttering something about Kristofferson being a "no talent." Temper, temper. Bianca the J. stomped off the sfet of her debut film Trick or Treat because her wardrobe just wasn't chi-chi enough, and her cabana was too small — but what do you expect from Mrs. Mick? Our arriviste does have her airs, checking into the Savoy Hotel asZelda Fitzgerald .

Stewart by a nose.. .almost. Rod the "ex-mod" Stewart was offered a film role if he agreed to have his schnozz bobbed — but he refused — content to leave the driving, uh, acting to Britt. The smart bucks are betting that Britt and the Beak will wed next month at his parent's home in Scotland.

Bette Midler is certainly becoming something of a smash — and I don't mean in the box office. First she supposedly pasted Patti Smith in the chops, and when she was at a soiree in LA last month it is reported she suckerpunched Paul Drew, big cheese radio exec. Later,.and perhaps soberer,

Bette admitted that she simply had "no idea why she did it." Sure, Bette, a wild throw. But sources close to the edge say it's because Drew said he'd put her record on the air but he found it just an average attempt. Cannedego.

Give 'em the bird! Humphrey Bogart's Maltese Falcon is in the hands of a movie buff named Tom Alderman — but no one is sure for how long. Columbia Pictures wants it back, strange callers are demanding that he hand it over, and three attempts have been made to steal it from his office. So how did this guy get the celebrated black bird? So infatuated with the movie of the same name, Alderman asked Columbia for a replica of the falcon after seeing the film eight times. By mistake they sent him the real thing, and after realizing their error, have offered him five replicas in exchange; Alderman refuses to trade. Y\e said he knew he had to have the bird ever since he first heard the closing line of the film: "Thus is the stuff dreams are made ! of."Sigh. HI